12.30.09 By Chase Hunter

Don't get me wrong. I am no big fan of Dick Cheney. His views about gay rights bug me, since his daughter is a gay rights activist, that much bring much interesting dinner conversation, one would assume. His past shameless profiteering from the Iraq war via his Haliburton holdings, bugs me. The fact that he secretly commandeered the US presidency of George W. Bush from behind the scenes for 8 years, bugged everyone. But I have to admit: his recent comments about Obama's apparent cluelssness about the fact that America is at war with radical Islam are dead on correct and accurate, and I could not agree more. The threat is still very terrible and very very real, and we are now sending 30,000 more precious American souls into Afghanistan to possibly lose their lives in this conflict. No one should take that lightly.

Barack Obama rarely speaks of the war, USA TV newscasts no longer honor our dead in their broadcasts, and the US media seems in many ways to be following Obama's lead to "minimize" the war by rarely referring to it and by apparently behaving as if it were not taking place. I have wondered about Obama's behavior in relation to the current mideast conflict for months now. Cheney apparently voices what many other Americans are wondering out loud by now.

Why does Barack Obama fail to address the facts about this war? We need real leadership here, not denial and "minimizing" by ignoring and disregarding facts. Here is the article below with Cheney's comments:


Cheney: Obama pretending 'we are not at war' (CNN) -- In blistering comments Wednesday, former Vice President Dick Cheney said President Obama's reaction to the botched terrorist attack on Christmas Day is proof that the president "is trying to pretend we are not at war."
In his first statement since the December 25 terror attempt on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit, Michigan, Cheney hit Obama for what he described as the president's "low-key" response to the events last week and criticized the administration's broader approach to national security.
"He seems to think if he gives terrorists the rights of Americans, lets them lawyer up and reads them their Miranda rights, we won't be at war," Cheney said. "He seems to think if we bring the mastermind of 9/11 to New York, give him a lawyer and trial in civilian court, we won't be at war. He seems to think if he closes Guantanamo and releases the hard-core al Qaeda-trained terrorists still there, we won't be at war."
Nigerian suspect Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, 23, is accused of trying to blow up the Northwest Airlines plane with explosives that had been concealed in his underwear. He is charged with attempting to destroy an aircraft. The militant group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for the plot.
Cheney said Obama outwardly "pretends we aren't [at war]," and the former vice president repeated his months-long criticism that the new president has made America "less safe."
"Why doesn't he want to admit we're at war?" Cheney asked. "It doesn't fit with the view of the world he brought with him to the Oval Office. It doesn't fit with what seems to be the goal of his presidency: social transformation, the restructuring of American society."
Obama has referred to both conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq as wars, though his administration has been reluctant to use the phrase "war on terror," which was widely used during the Bush presidency.
Cheney's comments are the latest criticisms of the new administration over the course of the past year, in which he has declared that Obama has put the country's security at an elevated level of risk as a result of a string of national security decisions that largely were at odds with Bush administration practices.
Cheney's past comments have been met with criticism from many Democrats and some members of the media, who say he would be better off following the example set by former President George W. Bush, who has remained largely silent on the actions of his successor.
However, the former vice president's forceful critique of Obama has received praise from conservative corners, leading the conservative publication Human Events to award him the title of "Conservative of the Year."
Cheney's statements also echo those of several congressional Republicans who have criticized the president's response to the terrorist attempt over the past several days and the fact that he waited until four days after the incident to speak publicly about it. Democrats note that Bush was not subjected to criticisms from either Democrats or the media when he waited six days to respond to Richard Reid's attempted shoe-bombing of an airplane on December 22, 2001. Like Obama, Bush was also on vacation when that botched terrorist attack occurred.
GOP members of Congress have also sharply questioned how the suspected terrorist could fly in the first place after his own father had warned U.S. intelligence authorities that his son was possibly under the influence of religious extremists. Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, said the White House isn't sharing information. He posted a message on Twitter accusing the administration of "stonewalling."
"The threat to the United States is real. I think this administration has downplayed it," Hoekstra said. "They need to recognize it, identify it."
Hoekstra also sent a fundraising e-mail to supporters Tuesday derailing "week-kneed liberals," a solicitation the Democratic National Committee later called "shameful."
Meanwhile, South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, whom Democrats blame for holding up the confirmation of Obama's nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration, said the new administration has "downplayed terrorism."
"The president has downplayed terrorism since he took office," the Republican told CBS on Wednesday. "He doesn't use the word anymore."
Responding to the criticism, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen said Republicans have become "out of touch in their efforts to score political points and even raise money off the terror plot to blow up a plane and kill innocent Americans on Christmas."
"Additionally, it is the Obama administration that has been far more aggressive in fighting al Qaeda than the Bush administration, which turned its focus from al Qaeda to Iraq," Van Hollen, D-Maryland, said in a statement to CNN on Wednesday.